Getting ripped is about controlling calories while simultaneously keeping the right hormones in balance. That’s what this series is about – providing the steps you can take to keep the right hormonal profile to help drop fat while keeping the metabolic rate humming.

Part Four: Cortisol

Hormone and Its Actions: Cortisol. A tricky hormone; helps liberate and burn fat but too much burns muscle resulting in a drop in metabolism.

What You Want To Do: Keep it from spiraling out of control for prolonged periods of time

Why You Want to Do This: Excess cortisol burns muscle rather than body fat. Preventing it from staying high for excessive periods of time will help save muscle. Recall: muscle drives the fat burning metabolism.

How You Do This:Post training insulin spikes temper cortisol levels. To keep it from ratcheting up, choose any two dieting days each week where your carbs are low and replace the post training carbs – such as a potato, rice or yam with fast acting carbs. Fast acting carbs, like fat free pop tarts, fat free cookies, sugar coated rice cakes and cold cereals spike insulin higher than other carbs. This drives down cortisol, protects the muscles and keeps the metabolism elevated. Supplement wise, you can add 800 mgs of phosphatidylserine, a quasi fat that also keeps cortisol from rising. Omega-3's may also be helpfulas they have been shown to lower cortisol